Language and Communication Milestones for 5-Year-Olds

Milestones are just a guide for when most children typically gain certain skills. All children develop on their own timelines though, so don’t worry too much if you notice their peers developing a little earlier in one area of development. As long as they are showing progress and are reaching their milestones they are right on track.

Children begin to develop their language and communication skills long before they even say their first word. As infants they are constantly absorbing information from what they see and hear around them. By 5-years-old they have grown leaps and bounds in their ability to communicate non-verbally as well as using language to communicate.

DEFINITION OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

Language is a tool of communication. People use the listening, reading, writing, and speaking of a language to exchange information between people. Communication though is the way in which people

5-YEAR-OLD LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION MILESTONES

• Speaks in complete, grammatically correct sentences
• Asks a lot of “why?”, “who?”, and “what?” questions
• Engages in private speech
• Speaks very clearly
• Tells simple stories
• Uses future tense
• Defines common items by what they are used for

LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES

Children are constantly developing their language and communication skills, and one way that they learn is through listening to you and their peers speak. When you notice that your preschooler mispronounces a word or says the wrong word just repeat it back to them correctly. There is no need, or benefit, to criticize their mistakes. Instead, just reframe what they said so that they can hear you say it correctly. For example, if your child says, “I hurt my flum” you can say to them, “Oh no, how did you hurt your thumb?”. Here are some other ways to support your 5-year-old’s language and communication development.

PLAY WITH PUPPETS

Puppets give preschoolers a fun and engaging way to interact with their peers, which gives them the opportunity to practice their language and communication skills through play. Playing with puppets also gives children a way to create their own social stories to work out problems.

TELL STORIES

Storytelling has so many benefits for young children. It introduces them to a rich vocabulary and gives them a way to practice their speaking skills through play. Listening to stories being told is a great way for preschoolers to practice their listening skills, as well as building on their ability to focus.

PLAY PRETEND

Pretend play is a great way to build a child’s imagination, but it is also very beneficial for oral language development. Preschoolers interact with their peers more freely during pretend play and because they are pretending to be someone/something else they also use higher forms of language then usual. Pretend play is also a time that children are able to practice back and forth conversation skills.

Language and communication skills develop so much and so fast over the first five years. From a cooing baby to a talkative five year old. Continue fostering your child’s development in language and communication by engaging in conversations, asking questions, reading and telling stories, and playing pretend.